Knights of The Old Republic

Episode 111

17

JUN/17

Once entering deeper into the tomb, the heroes begin acting unusual and emotional. Tala is dealing with extra anger, Leeloo becomes passionate and single minded about identifying what the Mecrosa order is after, Knight Bys is racked with emotional pain of the galactic war brewing. Kal becomes paranoid while Kelborn is afflicted with fear.

While moving through the long corridors of the tomb the are looking for traps, concerned a myriad of deadly traps lie ahead of them. Leeloo looking for holes in the walls eventually discovers a poisoned dart trap. After some arguing they find a safe path through. Kelborn feeling intense fears panics and triggers the trap. His armor protects him from all but one dart. Looking at the dart tip he is sure it’s poisoned upon closer examination he recognizes the poison is a strong paralytic he has used in the past that will eventually stop his heart and he doesn’t have the medicine to cure it.

Despite their constant fighting with one another their efforts to spot traps pays off as they narrowly escape a false floor acid pit trap. The long passage finally ends into a room. This chamber is shrouded in darkness, as though it clings to every surface. Filing the right-hand wall is a large, shadowy bas-relief of a robed man-the same one depicted at the entrance wearing a foreboding masked helmet. A quick search reveals no more doors, it’s a dead end. Leeloo steps forward and examines the bas-relief the helmeted figure suddenly moves-it is not a bas-relief at all, but some dark specter. “Welcome” it rasps, in a gravelly voice. “Welcome to the home of Saalo Morn. Leave this place while you still can.”

Oddly enough they do not detect the darkside from this force Spector. When asked he doesn’t know anything about the Mecrosa order or why they are searching for his tomb. He’ll claims his force spirit is a prisoner here, tormented by his mistakes in life.

Saalo Morn shares his story “I along with the other Sith Lords attacked the Republic and Jedi order for revenge of being exiled. I killed by the hundreds using terrible powers of the force. I believed I could not be stopped. I nearly had the Tapani Sector conquered when I learned how much I underestimated their resolve. Their rulers committed ruthless measure to entrap me. They allowed thousands of soldiers to die just to get me in position and as I was addressing the civilians as my new subjects they released a poisonous gas, killing everyone and weakening me.”

”Captured with the strange poison leaving me distant from the Bogan or the Jedi call it the dark side of the force. I was powerless and while being set to be quartered I could think of nothing else but how this could have happened. How far they went to stop me. It shocked me as I had battled them for some time and found their nobility and caring of each other to be an exploitable weakness. It shocked me to my core. Back on Korriban doing whatever it took to gain power or to keep it was normal. But with the reprieve from the pull of the Bogan I could see more clearly. And seeing how far these people fell left doubt on how I lived my life. I knew no begging would save my body as I could feel the hate in them as they began to tear me apart, but I hopped I could save my soul.”

_”Sometime later my spirit awoke in this tomb. I spent the first few centuries angry and lost. But then I began to find peace. Eventually through peace and calm I managed to separated my spirt from the Bogan. At least I would be free to return to the force, but something was holding me back. It was the Bogan part of my spirit that I shed. It is so strong and anchors me to this place by the bones of my body.

I have been trapped here for what has felt like an eternity and will be so for an eternity still. I am sorry that you are trapped as well. The Bogan takes pleasure in pain and corruption and will not let you leave.”_

“The Key to resetting the ancient traps-and thus, reopening the way out-lies interred with my bones deep beneath here. But the dark side is strong there-stronger than any of you. You would do far better to lie down here and die of starvation, then to face the horrors that await you below.”

The specter of Saalo Morn fades away, revealing a passage way descending down. Kelborn nearly bolted several times during his meeting with the former Sith Lord. It takes a lot of convincing to get him to proceed. Ahead they find a group of skeletal corpses dead for at least a 100 years. Only scraps of their Tapani style clothes remains. Each have weapons near them and are paired off like they killed one another. They appear to be tomb robbers that made it past the traps, but through greed turned on each other to the death. While walking past the darkside swells and bones snap back into place and glow faint purple. The skeletal forms arise like marionets and attack.

The purple glow protects these creatures from all forms of energy, but under the glow the bones are brittle. Kal and Kelborn smash the bones with their fists while the force users slam the skeletons into the walls using the force. Kelborn is nearly out of his mind while the other’s emotions sway. Tala becomes paranoid, Leeloo is plagued by the pain of loss, Bys gains a single-minded focus and Kal’s anger swells.

Looking at the ceiling they discover they are in a long corridor with giant stone blocks hanging about them. Kal triggers a pressure plate and triggers the blocks random release. He is pinned under a block as Leeloo runs across narrowly avoiding the crushing stones. Tala offers help to Kal, but in his anger his refuses and pulls a blaster on her. Tala and Bys travel by jumping onto already fallen blocks triggered by Leeloo’s brave run. Kal in an amazing feat of strength does move the block and makes it across.

Knight Bys sick of the bickering and slow progress takes the lead. She triggers a hallway of pendulum swinging blades. With amazing courage and skill, she stays in the middle of death cutting blades with her lightsaber making it easier for the others to move through.

They reach the final room. Inside this room the walls and ceiling are exposed rock, only the floor has been stone worked. The rock walls have carvings in them, but unlike the entrance, which was done with tools and artistry, these look to have been scratched into the walls by claws. They show the Sith Lord’s great and terrible accomplishments.

Towards the back of the room is a sarcophagus excessively chained up, crossed over and over again. No other doors or passages in this room. Morn tells them to hurry and open it before the Bogan part of him tries to stop them. His old helm will give them the power they need to escape.

The chains are thick and strong, but they get it open. Inside is a mutilated skeleton in tattered cloth robes wearing a metal helmet. rnished, but not weakened by time. Morn tells them to quickly don the helm. The Bogan is coming.

The force users debate if they should trust Saalo Morn and wear the helm. After a quick debate Leeloo dons the helm. She immediately feels more powerful and is just starting to understand how to use all of this power. While Leeloo is distracted the Spector of Saalo Morn laughs and reveals he was the dark presence all long. He had read their minds when they first entered the tomb and has been playing with their emotions to find a suitable apprentice and vessel. Leeloo drunk on power doesn’t believe her companions. She assures them she now has the power to move the beskar disc locking them in. Saalo Morn continues to whisper in her ear combatting the words her friends are saying. Leeloo says she needs the helm’s to power to kill Redora. Morn laughs and challenges her if killing Redora is really what she wants, he has seen her heart.

Leeloo convinces the others to follow her to the entrance and observe her power. Along the way the others are shocked to see the corridors leading back are only a tenth as long. The traps are fewer, different and rusted away centuries ago. Kelborn’s poison is gone and all the wounds they suffered while in the tomb vanish. It was all an illusion that Saalo Morn read from their minds to create strife and weaken them into wearing his helm. Kelborn no longer afraid supports Leeloo’s decision to use the helm. Kal, Bys and Tala try to convince him that Saalo Morn isn’t going to just let them go, he wants to rule again and will endanger the galaxy. They need to take the helm off her. Tala explains if they can’t break her free it would be better for Leeloo’s connect to the force and a mercy to kill her. He agrees to help stop her before she can leave the tomb, but he is sworn not to allow anyone to kill her.

They make their move, but she is too powerful and tosses them aside. Angered, but Leeloo manages to control herself despite the whispering in her ear. They try again and again to take the helm, but find it can’t be removed by them. Finally, Leeloo/Morn decides they are children and must be taught a lesson. If she kills Knight Bys then the others will fall in line. It’s for the greater good. Leeloo force pulls the Knight’s blue saber out of her hand and wields it along with her pink one after Knight Bys.

With Knight Bys dazed and on the floor Padawan Tala challenges Leeloo/Morn to a duel one on one. The two square off. It’s immediately apparent that the Padawan is out matched tenfold. Tala tries to convince her that she is being controlled by the darkside. Leeloo attempts to play on her fear, but is shocked to find Tala truly isn’t afraid. When asked why Tala whispers _”I’ve seen my own death and it’s not from a darksider.” Leeloo/Morn impressed by her believe raises Knight Bys’ light saber for a killing strike. The choice of the blade is a hidden part of Leeloo not wanting to use Kamlin’s blade to kill a Padawan. Leeloo/Morn says, ”It’ll take the force itself to stop me from killing you.” Just as she swings Knight Bys from the ground channels the force to disable her own lightsaber.

Leeloo/Morn is shocked by what appears to only be fate surrounding this child of the force. This distraction is enough for Leeloo to try and shake Saalo Morn out of her head. Kelborn calmly walks over and offers to help Leeloo remove the helm. Leeloo wins a contest of will vs the old Sith Lord and together they remove the helm. Saalo Morn is furious. He says he’ll kill them all and find a new vessel from the Mecrosa Order that they told him earlier where coming. Saalo Morn forces Knight Bys mind back to a bad memory in her past while using spectral tar attacks on Tala and Kelborn. Meanwhile Leeloo races to the Beskar disc blocking their exit she tries to cut into it with her saber. She finds it was never Beskar, but just an illusion Morn stole from her mind. The normal stone begins to melt under her light saber.

The others buy Leeloo enough time and with the path open they all manage to escape with the Helm. Saalo Morn can only move to the edge the tomb and shouts out he will one day find a way to break free and finish what he started a millennia ago.